Isaac often talked back to Nereus and then left to set up the camping tent. In the distance, Dexter, Gerard, and Clara were seen not setting up a tent but actually knocking one down.
‘Fast.’
Isaac swiftly stepped in among them, and in no time, a large tent was fully set up. Even a fairly skilled person wouldn’t be able to do it like that. As I admired his work, Nereus, next to me, cleared his throat.
“Dad can do it better.”
“Liar.”
“It’s true! Huh? Don’t you believe me?”
I shot Nereus a skeptical look, filled with doubt, and he flared up.
“Dad would even believe you if you said you weren’t actually six but an adult over twenty?!”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Wha- Really?!”
“Do you think it’s true?”
“You little brat!”
Of course, my words were a lie, but seeing Nereus flaring up, claiming I had deceived him, made me shake my head.
“Hey, this won’t do! Take this!”
Nereus suddenly shoved a pocket watch into my hand, then tapped one of the yet-to-be-set-up tents.
“I’ll set this up all by myself. Just watch.”
“Sure, sure.”
“I’m faster than that guy Isaac, you know? Isaac only reaped the benefits of those three doing all the setup work.”
“Yeah, yeah, Dad’s the best~”
While squatting nearby, I clapped my hands half-heartedly. Fueled by the competition, Nereus seemed to have caught fire with determination.
‘How amusing.’
With that childish attitude, he shouldn’t go around telling people he’s a father. Everyone would be shocked.
“Sigh.”
Rustle—!
“Hmm?”
At that moment, I heard something rustling from the large forest behind the coast.
‘It’s probably not a beast.’
Wild boars wouldn’t run away like that, and the presence was smaller than a deer but bigger than a rabbit.
I quickly glanced around. Everyone seemed busy setting up the campsite, carrying luggage, or preparing meals.
‘Just a little more~’
I figured it wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t go too deep into the forest. So, I quietly headed toward the sound. What I encountered there was, to say the least, unexpected.
“Ahhh! Please, save me!”
“Huh?”
“What… what the heck? It’s just a kid….”
“Who are you calling a kid, huh?!”
It was just a kid. There was no other way to describe it. If there was anything notable, it would be that the child was wearing slightly worn clothes.
But that wasn’t much of a feature. That level of clothing was commonly worn by commoners.
‘Hmm? No, something’s off.’
Odlo Island had its own unique clothing culture. Since fabric was scarce on this island, people didn’t cut it into pieces to make clothes. Instead, they would sew or tie a whole piece of fabric together to wear it.
‘That’s why the Odlo-style dress once became a trend.’
Of course, that clothing style became trendy only after Odlo Island fell apart, but still.
“Are you not from this island?”
“W-what?! Who do you think you’re talking to?!”
“That outfit of yours, it’s not Odlo-style clothing.”
Flinch.
The child trembled, unable to say anything in response.
‘So, it really isn’t?’
“Ah, no! I got it as a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yeah, a merchant who sometimes visits here gave it to me as a gift during a trade… No, wait, why am I explaining this to you?!”
“That’s because you deliberately came all the way to where we are. Didn’t the adults tell you not to come here?”
“…….….”
‘So, they did tell you not to come here.’
There’s no way the islanders wouldn’t know that we were pirates. But reporting pirates would only result in more damage and take too much time, so they chose to stay silent and pretend not to know.
We pirates also weren’t the type to go on raids without reason. As long as it wasn’t a situation like this, there wouldn’t be a problem.
As I grew more suspicious and stayed quiet until the kid spoke up, the child’s face flushed red before yelling out.
“F-fine! I just came here because I heard there were kids my age…!”
Well, the kid tried to yell that out.
“Lala, what are you doing here? Huh? And who’s this kid?”
“Ahhhhh—!!!”
When Nereus suddenly intervened, the child screamed as if they had seen a monster and bolted away like an arrow.
‘Hmm.’
I glanced back and saw Nereus, standing with the light behind him. Even I had to admit that the pressure he exuded was no joke.
‘Still, I don’t think he’s that scary.’
Looks like that kid was just a scaredy-cat.
“Who was that new friend of yours that ran away so fast?”
“Not my friend. Just met them.”
“Hmm. But anyway, Lala, look at this.”
Nereus picked me up and held me in the air, proudly showing off a newly built, flashy tent.
“Your dad set this up all by himself. Isn’t Dad amazing?”
“Whoa, that’s awesome.”
Even though I replied insincerely while clapping my hands, I could feel Nereus’s pride radiating through his entire body.
“So, how long did it take? I was definitely faster than that guy Isaac, right?”
“Um… yeah…”
“Huh?”
“Sorry. I didn’t check the time.”
Pfft.
A snicker could be heard from somewhere. It was probably Isaac.
‘Wasn’t his concept supposed to be the quiet type?’
Looks like he threw that concept away somewhere.
***
Tonight’s menu was a seafood-packed stew cooked by Gilbert, accompanied by cheese and bread.
‘Delicious.’
As expected, Gilbert’s cooking was always delicious, no matter how many times you ate it. Though, that wasn’t the main point.
“How long are we going to stay here?”
The reason we came here was to investigate ‘Angel.’
But after setting up the camping tent, with Gilbert cooking and us now eating dinner, the sun was already setting.
Even after all that time, we hadn’t done anything productive.
“Hm, not sure.”
“You didn’t set a plan?”
“Maybe we’ll figure it out in a few days?”
It was an incredibly vague answer.
And, indeed, several days passed.
We camped for a few days, gathered clams and conchs from the sea, caught fish, and collected fruits, herbs, and other edibles from the forest.
By the time we explored the deeper parts of the forest, having already scouted the nearby areas, something happened one night.
The village people came carrying some food and ingredients.
‘They seem tired.’
At the forefront was a man who appeared to be the village chief. He stepped forward and spoke.
“I feel bad that you’ve been staying here for days without proper accommodation, so we’ve prepared this for you.”
“Oh, there was no need for that, but thank you. We’ll gratefully accept it.”
Despite saying there was no need, Nereus’s hands were honest. He took everything the islanders had brought without hesitation.
“Hey, should we have this for dinner? We’ve been eating pretty modestly for a while, huh?”
“Are you saying the food I made was modest?”
“For a growing child, it’s not enough.”
The food brought by the people of Odlo Island included coconut salad, red fish ceviche, crispy roasted goose, and spiral-shaped bread rolled from long dough.
‘That’s a lot.’
I couldn’t understand why they were treating us so generously. As I stood there with my mouth slightly agape, Gilbert, who had been examining the ingredients used in the dishes, mumbled.
“Red-flesh fish in ceviche… that’s unusual.”
“Why, Gilbert? Is it bad to use that kind of fish in ceviche?”
“Fatty fish isn’t usually used. But, I guess it varies by region.”
Since he found it curious, he muttered that he’d give it a try. Besides Gilbert, everyone was already eating the food brought by the islanders.
“Lala~ Come here.”
‘Oh dear, when did he start drinking again?’
At some point, the alcohol had been brought out. Nereus was gulping it down, using the meal as snacks to pair with the alcohol.
‘When did they eat all of that?’
To make matters worse, the red fish ceviche plate was already empty before I even had a chance to taste it.
It was a dish I had never tried before, so I glanced at the rest of the pirate crew with annoyance. But all of them feigned ignorance, pretending they didn’t know anything.
‘Even Gilbert managed to eat his share without me noticing! How sneaky.’
He was the one talking to me earlier, but somehow, he managed to grab his portion and was now avoiding my gaze as he munched on it.
“Oh dear, my princess~ Why do you look so grumpy~?”
“They ate it all without me.”
“That’s why? My princess is such a glutton.”
Nereus chuckled and generously piled roasted goose on a piece of bread, offering it to me.
‘I don’t often get to eat raw fish.’
This world we live in is made up of many islands. And just as there are many islands, there are also many different cultures. But surprisingly, the culture of eating raw fish was not very common.
‘Was it because of that superstition that said eating raw fish would bring the wrath of Cormare, the sea god? It’s a baseless belief, though.’
There were cases where people got sick after eating raw fish, but that was just a matter of bad luck.
Some types of fish had to be cooked to remove toxins, and other times, food poisoning or stomach pain occurred due to freshness or parasites.
Although these reasons have now been identified, the old superstitions persisted for so long that many people still avoided eating raw fish.
Only the most fearless and reckless pirates would eat it without hesitation. While the navy didn’t believe in the superstition, they still avoided eating raw food to prevent any unforeseen accidents.
In other words, it had become a customary practice.
‘If it weren’t for a place like this, I wouldn’t have had the chance to try ceviche.’
It was a dish more commonly eaten in the eastern continent, where religious influence was weaker, compared to the western continent. Odlo Island was located near the western continent, but this world was one blessed by Cormare, the sea god, and Deira, the earth god.
Therefore, across the vast ocean, there were many islands of various sizes and climates, each with its unique ecosystem and culture.
The eastern and western continents were just two of the larger divisions. So, it wasn’t strange that Odlo Island, located near the western continent, had its own unique food culture.
But if there was one commonality across all those islands, it was the use of the common currencies ‘Wetten’ from the western continent and ‘Rist’ from the eastern continent.
However, Odlo Island was one of the few islands that didn’t use either of these common currencies, instead having its own local currency.
‘That’s actually a bigger distinguishing feature than their clothing or the ceviche…’
But that wasn’t what mattered right now. What was important was that the plate that had held the ceviche was now completely empty. I remember it being a large portion too…
‘Not that I dislike roasted goose.’
But still, roasted goose was one thing, and this was another. It was a dish I had never had even before I regressed. I could only watch as my family, laughing and drinking, seemed completely unaware of their wrongdoing.
“Hey! Gil! Got anything else to eat?!”
“First Mate~ That vegetable roast we had last time was so good. Can you make it again?!”
“I’ll eat whatever you give me!”
“Are your stomachs bottomless pits…? Fine, I’ll head into the forest for a bit, so stay put!”
‘Well, at least they all seem happy, so I guess it’s fine.’
“Dexter, that idiot fell asleep while eating!”
“Gerard! Clara! Move him somewhere else, quickly!”
When will they ever grow up? They’re such fools.
…Though, to be honest, I didn’t dislike this kind of atmosphere.
.
